


clumsy cupid

by a_popcorn_kernel



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Cupid AU, Endgame Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, F/M, Love Confessions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:26:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25586659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_popcorn_kernel/pseuds/a_popcorn_kernel
Summary: She let the arrow fly, knowing even as it left her fingers that it would strike true—as it always did.Except... it didn’t.It would’ve, if the two immortals had continued chatting as they had been doing for the past few minutes. If.She gawked, barely registering what she saw before her. In the split second it took for her arrow to reach Adrien, he tripped. And then the other boy, the one she hadn’t paid attention to earlier, immediately stepped to where Adrien had stood, offering Adrien a hand up.And accidentally intercepted the arrow of love meant for the sun god.A Cupid!Marinette Lukanette AU inspired bythis comicby@gravity_maxxon instagram! please take note that this fic takes a different direction from the comic!
Relationships: Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 17
Kudos: 92
Collections: July 2020 - Rare Pair/Character





	clumsy cupid

**Author's Note:**

> this is actually my first time doing lukanette, lol. hope yall enjoy~
> 
> a thank you to my beta, [PrinceKapitan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrinceKapitan/pseuds/PrinceKapitan)!

Inhale. Exhale.

Marinette forced herself to relax, the bushy leaves of the shrub she crouched behind brushing her skin as she readied her bow. She’d done this countless times before. But why did it feel so different, so  _ difficult _ now?

She bit her lip, taking another peek at the two immortals that stood a little distance from her. Two immortals—and one of them just happened to be Adrien. Adrien, the sun. (Literally.) And also possibly the love of her life.

Heat rose in her cheeks. Marinette shook her head imperceptibly, inwardly berating herself. Nope. Now was not the time!

She steadied herself, shoving away thoughts of him. Focusing all willpower to the task at hand. 

And what a bold task it was! Because she, deity of love and all its trappings, aimed to shoot one of her famous arrows of love straight through Adrien’s heart. 

Marinette narrowed her eyes, fine-tuning her aim. Of course, archery was second nature to her at this point. But it never hurt to be careful. Especially when messing with a crush’s heart.

She could still hear Alya’s words echoing in her head.  _ Why don’t you just use your powers to finally get Adrien to notice you? You’re the goddess of love, for goodness’ sake. Take advantage of your position every once in a while! Watching you dance around him is  _ so  _ frustrating. _

For some twisted reason she’d agreed. So here she was. Heart—almost literally—in her hands. She pulled the string back, drawing it taut. Double-checked everything, again. Let out a soft, final breath.

And then she let the arrow fly, knowing even as it left her fingers that it would strike true—as it always did.

Except... it didn’t. 

It would’ve, if the two immortals had continued chatting as they had been doing for the past few minutes. If. 

She gawked, barely registering what she saw before her. In the split second it took for her arrow to reach Adrien, he  _ tripped _ . And then the other boy, the one she hadn’t paid attention to earlier, immediately stepped to where Adrien had stood, offering Adrien a hand up. 

And accidentally intercepted the arrow of love meant for the sun god.

Marinette nearly sobbed out loud.  _ Why? _ she cried.  _ Why had she been cursed with bad luck? Since when did bad luck have such impressive timing? _

The teal-tipped god’s head whipped back, instinctively searching for the source of the arrow. It had been one of the first things she’d charmed into her arrows after her first few trial runs. Matchmaking was easier when you had a rough estimate of where the target’s eyes would land first.

Marinette’s eyes widened when his gaze landed on hers. Crap. She’d made the mistake of stepping out of the undergrowth once she had shot her arrow, thinking everything would go to plan. Thinking that she had to make sure  _ Adrien _ saw her. It was too late to hide now. 

Marinette died a little inside when she saw the telltale, loving look that was an effect of her arrow quickly overtake the mystery man’s shockingly attractive face.

“Who are you?” the deity whispered, approaching her almost reverently. Behind him, she could see Adrien hauling himself up, looking in their direction bewilderedly. 

“Marinette?” Adrien said, confused. “What’s going on? Did something happen to Luka?”

Luka. Oh. Oh, now she remembered. That was his name. Luka, god of music. Luka, her friend Juleka’s older brother. She’d heard that he was always as calm as a melody played in legato. So maybe this wouldn’t be that bad.

But then she remembered what the other immortals had said afterward. They’d whispered that the few times he  _ was _ enraged, his fury came in quick, intense bouts of anger, staccato-like in manner.

She desperately hoped this wouldn’t be one of those scarce few times.

“ _ Marinette _ . So that’s your name.” Luka’s voice, smooth as silk and sweet as honey, stopped her brain in its tracks before it could start dreaming up what hellish tortures he could possibly put her through.

“Yes,” Marinette said shakily, trying and failing to hide the tremor in her voice. “And you’re Luka, right?”

Luka ignored her question, and instead, stepped closer. She took an instinctive step back. He continued regardless. 

“Marinette, I know we’ve only just met. But one look at you and I already know."

She could feel sweat beading on her forehead. Oh no. No, no, no.  _ Gods above, please don't let it be a confession. Why did I make that one of the arrow's effects?! _

"You’re an extraordinary girl, with a soul as clear as a musical note and sincere as a melody,” Luka said earnestly. He took another step forward, and she found herself unable to step away, rooted to the spot by his wide, grey-eyed gaze.

Marinette hoped Adrien would leave already. She would  _ die _ if he were to witness any more of this.

Luka, unfortunately, had no such qualms. Nearing the end of his speech, he knelt down on one knee and took her hand, looking up at her with such a staggering amount of adoration that she found herself breathless.

“And now I know I’ve finally found the muse who has inspired the music that’s been playing in my head.”

And then his lips brushed over her knuckles, sending a thrill through her veins. A heady rush bit at its heels, fogging up her brain, making her heart stutter.

And then she did something that she would forever be embarrassed of.

Marinette fainted.

* * *

When she came to, the first thing she saw was a pair of worried grey eyes, and a brow wrinkled with concern. Luka.

Marinette tilted her head slightly. To her dismay, she saw Adrien with a similar expression on his face.

Perhaps she could have appreciated that sentiment. If they had been in a different situation. If it had been he who'd been the recipient of her arrow.

She sighed internally. Oh, well. It was rather too late for that. 

But… Luka wasn't actually bad. On the few occasions she'd seen him, she'd acknowledged his beauty. And his music was beautiful. He'd seemed like a good enough guy. If she hadn't developed a crush on Adrien before, maybe she'd have fallen for him instead.

Marinette found herself pinking at the thought that maybe, just maybe, she hadn't missed her target.

Luka held out a hand. "Are you okay, Marinette?" The caring concern in his voice didn't help her wandering thoughts. At all.

She tried to ignore how her cheeks bloomed with even more heat. She shouldn't be thinking like this. She'd basically manipulated him, made him act so… so  _ loving _ towards her.

This was wrong.

Marinette bit her lip, torn. She should remove the charm from him. 

_ But… _

"Marinette?" Luka cocked his head. "Are you going to stay down there, love?"

Marinette's face was on fire. She stammered a response, carefully placing her hand in his. Luka pulled her up gracefully, smiling fondly.

_ I don't want to give this up,  _ she realized with a start. She didn't want to lose that soft smile that he wore just for her. She didn't want to give up the way he'd called her "love." 

She sighed softly. Perhaps she was being too attached. After all, she'd only known him for a few seconds. But she couldn't deny the potent attraction that was there.

Marinette dug her teeth into her lip again. No. She was being overly possessive of someone that had never been hers in the first place. At least, not by choice.

A finger pried her lips apart, bringing her out of her miserable thoughts. Her eyes widened. 

"You'll bleed if you keep biting your lip like that, love," Luka said. His thumb lingered for a moment more, then he retracted it. Marinette felt a shudder go through her.

She didn't want to give this up… but she knew she had to.

"Don't— You shouldn't call me 'love,'" she finally managed, sadness in her voice. 

She saw pain flash through Luka's eyes. "Oh— Well, as you wish, lo— Marinette," he said, and the hurt she heard in his voice sent a stab at her heart.

Gods above. She hadn't known she could feel the loss of something as small as this so keenly.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, feeling her voice fracture a little. "I shouldn't have done that. To you. Or Adrien. Or anyone at all."

Luka scrunched his brow, confused. "What do you mean, Marinette?"

His innocently confused expression, she thought, made it infinitely harder for her to do this.

She made herself do it anyways.

Reaching into her quiver, she felt around blindly for the arrow she used for erasing attraction. Marinette steeled herself, willing her hand to be steady. Then, quick as a flash, she raised the tip of the arrow to Luka's chest, and touched him with it. 

She watched as her magic leached from his system, his eyes losing the soft, sappy look she'd come to crave in the short time she'd seen it. She watched as he blinked rapidly, confused, unaware of what he'd done under her arrow's influence. She watched as he turned her gaze on her with a look of unfamiliarity. 

"What…? What happened?" Luka furrowed his eyebrows, then glanced behind him. "Adrien?"

Adrien started. He'd been so immersed in the scene that had unfolded before his eyes that he'd stood there, in wide-eyed silence, the whole time. "I'm… not sure either. We were just standing here, talking. Then something came over you and you went over to her"—Marinette averted her gaze as Luka's eyes darted to her again—"and started spouting love confessions."

Luka blinked, bewildered. "I  _ what _ ?"

Adrien suddenly grinned. "Oh, and also you went on one knee and told her that she was the 'music that's been playing in your head.' I didn't know confessions could be this poetic!"

Luka, mouth agape, side-eyed Marinette. "I did all that? But why? And who even are you?"

Marinette cringed. "I'm… I…"

She hung her head, feeling defeated. "I accidentally shot you with my arrow, and then… that happened."

"I was just playing around and that happened and I'm so sorry," Marinette mumbled quickly, ashamed. She couldn't bring herself to admit the truth—that she'd been aiming for Adrien, and she'd missed.

Luka's eyebrows shot up. "I see… and you are…?"

"Ma— Ma— Marinette," she stuttered. Gods above, why did her stutter choose to return now? "I'm the goddess of love. As you can tell."

A small smile came to Luka's lips. "Well, Ma-Ma-Marinette, it's nice to meet you."

Marinette flushed, feeling— _ butterflies _ in her stomach. Well. That was new.

His smile turned into a grin, and he held out a hand. "I'm Luka, god of music."

She took it gingerly. She couldn't mess this up—she'd already done enough. "Likewise," Marinette replied, smiling through her blush. 

Maybe… maybe this way they could start over.

Maybe, somewhere in the future, she'd get to see his loving smile again.

Maybe. 

Marinette knew it wasn't for certain. Friendships didn't equate love, and love didn't always equate romantic love. 

But she'd rather there was a chance than none. 

**Author's Note:**

> comments and concrit very very much appreciated. im always looking to improve!
> 
> i'm on [tumblr](https://apopcornkernel.tumblr.com) and [instagram](https://instagram.com/apopcornkernel) as @apopcornkernel!


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